To Have and to Hoax

Martha Waters' debut "To Have and to Hoax" is a fun and light-hearted rom-com set in the early 1800s. When Violet and James are found in a compromising position at a ball they are pretty much forced to get married in order to prevent a scandal. Fast forward five years and they are still together, but haven't really talked to each other in four years. When James is badly hurt, Violet realizes that she does in fact still care for her husband after all this time. In order to make him see the same, she feigns an illness of her own and a game of them trying to one-up each other ensues. The beautiful cover art intrigued me right away and after reading the blurb I simply had to read this book. As I expected, it is a very fun and light-hearted read and I also love the setting. The characters are enjoyable as well, but I will say that they have a tendency to get on one's nerve at times. Violet and James are very proud, stubborn and oftentimes extremely childish characters, which makes them and the situation they find themselves in appear as silly as it is entertaining. Some of the side characters are quite interesting and the setup of novel makes me think that some of them might get their own books. Personally, I'd love to read more about Diana and Jeremy. I recommend "To Have and to Hoax" to fans of historical romance novels.